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Small bird with short, heavy bill.
Not listed
Indigenous: Crested Shrike-Tit
At a glance
FamilyShrike-tits
SizeSmall
RarityCommon
HabitatCoastlines, harbours, offshore waters, estuaries, headlands, beaches, and large inland water when conditions suit.
Best timeReported across most months in Victoria, with no narrow seasonal peak.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Marc Anderson
Range map
Range map
2706visible hotspots
45251visible records
4states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Green above, yellow below, with bold black-and-white head pattern. Male has black chin, female dark greenish. Found across south eastern and eastern Australia. Inhabits eucalypt woodlands and some wetter woodlands, where it tears bark noisily, looking for food. Song is loud and includes a descending three-part whistle. Also an accomplished mimic of many other species’ songs. Formerly treated as one of the geographically isolated subspecies of Crested Shrike-tit.
Behavior
The call of the eastern shriketit is a weak, mellow and mournful whistle, sounding like whiert, whit-whit, wheeir . It also makes repeated stuttering or chuckling calls described as "knock-at-the-door", and can perfectly mimic many species within its habitat.
Gallery